Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium, the game that was billed as the shootout of the season evolved into a defensive clinic for San Diego State.

The Aztecs’ defense saved their best performance for when it mattered most, and they put up a gutsy fight against Fresno State’s vaunted offense.

But in the end, it wasn’t enough.

Fresno State (7-0 overall, 4-0 Mountain West) did just enough to fend off a fierce late-game rally from the Aztecs and hold on for a 35-28 win in overtime.

After sophomore kicker Seamus McMorrow missed a 37-yard field goal that would have given the Aztecs the win at the end of the regulation, Fresno State took possession of the ball first in the overtime period.

Running back Marteze Waller scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run for the BCS No. 17 Bulldogs, and SDSU’s offense stalled on its ensuing possession as Quinn Kaehler's fourth down pass for Dylan Denso in the endzone was broken up by the Bulldogs' Derron Smith.

With the win, the Bulldogs extended their season win streak to seven, and stayed in the hunt for a BCS berth.

Still, the Aztecs (3-4 overall, 2-1 MWC) made them work for the win.

SDSU coach Rocky Long said he was proud of the way his team fought throughout the game.

"Where most teams would fold, our team did not," Long said. "We still lost the game. But in my humble opinion, they made one more play than we did. That’s the only difference.

"If you all were watching the same game I did, guess what? That was a great college football game."

SDSU’s defense held Fresno State to a season-low seven points in the first half, and held Bulldogs’ quarterback Derek Carr to 298 passing yards – about 81 yards under his season average per game.

The Bulldogs’ leading receiver, Davante Adams, had two touchdowns and 87 receiving yards, but Fresno State was held without a 100-yard receiver for only the second time this season.

SDSU’s offense came to life in the second half, and receiver Ezell Ruffin finished with a career-high 181 yards on 10 receptions, while Adam Muema had 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, and the Aztecs hung with the Bulldogs till the end.

But SDSU also came out on the wrong end of a questionable call in the fourth quarter that turned what would have been a SDSU first down in the red zone into a 78-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Fresno State linebacker Ejiro Ederaine.

On fourth and 6 from the Fresno 40, SDSU quarterback Quinn Kaehler connected with receiver Ezell Ruffin, who picked up the first down but kept running till the Bulldogs’ defense caught up with him.

Ruffin was tackled at the 22, and he appeared to fall down before Fresno State linebacker Ejiro Ederaine stole the ball and sprinted 78-yards to the endzone as the Aztecs’ offense looked on in surprise.

Ruffin got up gesturing to the referee that he was down before the ball popped out.